We've Got SALSA Sussed!

We’ve got SALSA sussed..! Week 37 Complaints Complaints, when received, need to be handled quickly and efficiently.   Staff need to understand the difference between a serious Complaint, such as a food safety issue, which is when it needs escalating immediately, or a less serious Complaint such as a quality issue. These are still very important to your business reputation, however, are not an immediate food safety risk.   Staff need training about the difference between a Food Safety Complaint or a Quality Complaint, especially if they have very little food industry experience.   Having a system in place to deal with Complaints efficiently and effectively is essential, particularly for the reputation of the business.   Let’s check out how to tackle this one! What’s coming next… Week 38 Document Control                               Compl...

We’ve got SALSA sussed..! Week 36 Managing Incidents Managing Incidents is an extremely important topic. It is a part of the SALSA Standard where a lot of Non-Conformances found in audits, due to businesses NOT carrying out their Mock Recall.   Incidents can come in many forms. The most serious can result in a Recall. This can be a very costly situation for various reasons. Business reputation, financial costs, human resource costs for example. We are going to look at setting up the Managing Incidents Procedure and testing that it works through a Mock Recall.   As I mentioned in the previous weeks, it is not a Traceability Test, although traceability is an element of a Mock Recall.   A Mock Recall is ‘ testing that your team knows what to do’ if and when a Recall situation was to actually happen. You need each team member present at the Mock Recall, to carry out their role, follow the procedure, and make sure it works and it is understood.   Ther...

We’ve got SALSA sussed..! Week 35 Traceability Testing   Traceability Test Every year, at the very least, you must carry out a Traceability Test. This is to make sure your Traceability System works and has been completed correctly in all areas from start to finish.   I am going to run through the best way, and the most effective way to complete this.   Auditors need to see all documentation which is evidence to support your Traceability Test.   Don’t confuse your Traceability Test with your Mock Recall Test (this is something slightly different). However, you can use your Trace Test within your Recall Test, to prevent you from repeating your Traceability Test.   A Recall Test is where you are testing your team, to check they all know what their role in a Recall situation. So you need to get them all together to carry out their role. We will be going into Mock Recall Tests in more detail when we get to Managing Incidents, Recalls & Wit...